Acreage

The biggest wildlife management areas and national wildlife reserves in Arkansas:

Ozark National Forest - 678878 acres
White Rock - 280000
Piney Creeks - 180000
Sylamore - 170000
Winona - 160000
White River - 160000
Muddy Creek - 146206
Mount Magazine - 120000
Buffalo National River - 95730
Caney Creek - 85000

That's a lot of ground to cover. White River is relatively close to me, but has a pretty restricted modern gun season. The top four, I think, are all in the Ozarks. Not exactly close, but wide open with a long gun season.

Philosophy

Here's something to think over: can you (and by "you" I mean "me") just go out and learn how to deer hunt?

Think about it. Most hunter's learn from older family/friends/whatever. I don't have that. But the philosophy and practice of deer hunting is out there - on the internet, on TV, in books - to be learned. Can I just do my research and then go perform? Or will I still be missing some vital stuff?

Not that I intend to go it alone. My nephew wants to go with me, and I intend to grill my sister's man pretty hard at some point this summer and make him tell me, if not everything he knows, everything I need to.

Do I have catching up to do? Yes. But I've no doubt I can catch up.

Bellow

Shot the 20 gauge today. After going unused for a quarter of a century it still shoots accurate, not much kick, and a hearty bellow to wake up the woods. Very, very satisfying.

The Hunting Vehicle

Let's take a minute to think about logistics.

Okay, assume I do go into the woods and kill a deer. Further assume that I field dress that sumbitch and then drag him out of the woods. Question: will the deer blood ever come out of my leather seats?

Yes, I know your stereotypical hunter drives a truck. I'm not getting a truck. Not right now, anyway. And probably not for a few years.

I'm thinking plastic tarps. Cover the backseat or trunk, tape that stuff in place, and head for the nearest deer processor.

Note: know where the processors are before you start hunting in any area.

Also, lets think about dragging a deer. I'm thinking that the best hunting will be in places where few people go, right? Sounds logical. And most hunters don't go very far into the woods at all. If I can get a mile or two away from any roads or tracks, my odds are going to be better. However, dragging a hundred pounds or so of dead deer couldn't be fun. There has to be a solution or gadget for this, though.

Cases

My grandfather's shotgun was in his old case. It was a nice case - imitation leather with egg-crate inside - but bulky, and the egg crate has started to dry out and come apart. My .22 - and this is a testament to how my family never throws anything away - was still in the box it came in, complete with the owner's manual.

So my first couple of purchases were plain, slim black cases. It's a start.

Shopping

John and I went to see Monsters vs. Aliens today, then spent a couple of hours bumming around Bass Pro Shops. Oh, the shopping. John likes fishing lures, so we spent a long time back in the fishing department, checking out the shad. Then he looked at magnets and climbed in and out of the tents while I looked at some books.

Then we slowly made our way through hunting and camo. Yes, I have a lot to buy, but the best part of taking up a new sporting hobby is the equipment. Here's a question, though: how much do you really need? What's necessary, and what's fun-but-useless? I think of my grandfather going hunting thirty years ago, and the minimal equipment he carried. But he might not have taken as many deer as the modern, gadget-bedecked hunter does.

Snake boots, for example. My nephew mentioned hunting around Turrell. There are places around Turrell that are made of snakes. But in November/December? Really?

And how about a handheld GPS? If I'm up around Turrell, I don't think I'd need one. I've always had a good sense of direction, and I don't lose my way easily. But what if I'm up in the Ozarks? over 600,000 acres, some of it quite literally trackless. A GPS might be a fine thing up there.

Assuming modern gun hunting in Arkansas, let's think head to toe: blaze hat, blaze vest, camo shirt/jacket, camo pants, boots, socks, underwear and assorted undergarments, shotgun, shells...

That's all you've got to have. A phone, a knife, and a little go-to-hell kit (food, water, matches, first aid) would probably be good, too.

What else do I want to have? Do I have to have? Is a backpack an option?

Cleaning

The guns, after twenty-odd years put away, probably needed to be cleaned. So I got a universal cleaning kit tonight and went over both of them.

They're both in great condition, though. No rust, clean barrels inside and out...both a little dirty from use, but I fixed that.

Question: should I take these guns to a gunsmith or some other professional for a once-over before I use them. Yes, they've been in storage for decades. But they both look nearly new.

Keeping it in the Family

My nephew wants to go hunting with me, too!

"We'll get us some trophies!" he said.

The Story So Far

I grew up in Arkansas, so I grew up around hunters.

Understand, my dad was never around. My grandfather was, though, and he spent more time outside than inside. So did my brother. So did my other male relatives, friend's dads, my sister's boyfriends (and, later, their husbands), etc.

I wasn't really a hunter, though. Mind you, I was taught to shoot early, and I was pretty good at it. But I never went to the deerwoods...and I didn't really want to, at the time.

My grandfather died when I was 12. I still miss him. About that same time my brother started skittering off to live his life, and I already knew that he probably wasn't a role model I wanted to have.

My older sister was married to man around that time. He wasn't the greatest guy, but he did take me hunting for squirrel and dove. I loved it. My friend Trey and his dad took me hunting for dove and raccoon. Awesome. Loved it, too.

And then I was a teenager. My priorities were

- Girls

- Booze

- Music

I really wasn't worried about hunting, I promise.

In college, I was married, and very enamored with my new bride.

(For the record: I still am.)

But between swilling beer and writing papers I still didn't give much thought to hunting. I was a vaguely liberal student, too, and I felt a few twinges of animal rights-related uneasiness about hunting, too. But I also knew that deer, at least, don't have any predators to speak of and if people don't hunt them you'll be running over them with your car and shooing them out of your yard every day.

After college I lived in Memphis and New Orleans. Sonya and I lived the life of childless young professionals in the big city. I assure you it kept me busy.

In 2003 my son was born, and in 2005 I came back to Arkansas. In that last year or so in New Orleans I had been considering taking the hunter education course just to have the certification in case I wanted to do something. After I was back in Arkansas and settled, I kept thinking about it. Soon I was looking at maps and thinking about places I could hunt.

Going native? Perhaps. And if so, I plead guilty. I am a native, after all.

However, it was all just idle thought without a gun. Or a bow. I had neither, and the price for a new one is high. While it's something I wanted to do, I couldn't justify paying the better part of a thousand dollars to get in the game. There are other bills to pay.

But I wanted to get out and explore some of Arkansas. Is it the richest or coolest state? No. But it's beautiful, and I wanted to know more about it. The in-laws gave me a big gift-card to Bass Pro Shops for Christmas, so I used it for camping equipment. If nothing else, I'd take pictures.

So today I go to my mom's house to weed-and-feed her yard. Afterwards, I'm digging under her bed to find my old .22, thinking it might be fun to take it out and shoot sometimes and, eventually, to teach John how to shoot, too.

"Well, you know," my mom said, "you've got a shotgun under there, too."

No, I didn't know that.

Apparently, after my grandfather died my grandmother put aside one of his shotguns for me. This was that gun - a Remington 870 20 guage. It's a beautiful old gun, in good condition if obviously well-used and well-loved. According to my mom, it was my grandfather's favorite.

So now what? Now we plan. And study. And ask the experts. And in the fall, I hunt.

Is this something I need to do? Something I need to prove to myself? No. But I feel like it's a good skill to have, and a good thing to know how to do. And I'd like to be able to teach John about it as he grows up. And I can't do that if I don't figure it out first.

So here we go.